


A Lady for Ingrid's Knight

by bethany81707



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Character Study, Emotional Baggage, F/F, Flash Fic, Fluff, New perspectives, Overcoming Biases, character backstory, mild homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29037930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Ingrid talks about her experiences with loving girls in the new light that having met Edelgard gave to her.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	A Lady for Ingrid's Knight

Ingrid smiled nervously as she took her seat at the largest table in the terrace. Edelgard and Dorothea acknowledged her with a smile in turn, while an assortment of other girls sat alongside, with Lysithea and Mercedes being the closest to them.

“You’re a lot more comfortable now,” Edelgard said, taking a sip of her tea. Dorothea gave her her cup, and Ingrid took it to immediately take a sip herself. Chamomile, because why wouldn’t it be.

“It’s… it’s liberating. I can’t look back on my old life without thinking of how foolish I was, but I’m glad to be here all the wiser,” Ingrid said. Dorothea gave a weak sort of chuckle.

“Listen, about that, Ingrid. I’ve been wanting to ask you, since you, er… found things so liberating here… how do you see romantic relationships between woman and woman?” she asked her. Ingrid blushed, wondering just where she felt it best to start while she organised how she planned to tell one part of the story.

“Well, you see, in Faerghus, men marry women and that’s the end of that. You need a man and a woman in order to produce children, and you need to produce children for Crests. Faerghus in general just doesn’t really consider the needs of other kinds of relationships to be as worthy of attention. I, of course, was no different, since my father needed me to get married to a man and have Crested children in order to secure his financial future,” Ingrid started with, with resounding nods. This part was familiar to them all, but once Ingrid started talking, she felt more comfortable with getting more personal.

“My father’s first choice in husband was Glenn, and he was the perfect guy. I don’t really remember much of him anymore, though… he cultivated my military gifts, helped me ride on my pegasus, and in general he did the sorts of things you lot might’ve done if you believed in Faerghus’s values and were fine with the system the way it is. There is one thing, though, that stood between me and him…

“There was a part of my childhood I spent in Fhirdiad, if not living there, at least being present often enough to be so. Felix and Sylvain were there, too, and that’s where our four’s friendship was really strengthened. There was also this one girl, though… Dimitri often talked to her, and while for the most part the rest of us just trained together or played or something, I sometimes went over her way too. Eventually, she decided she’d talk to me, and we’d have all these inane conversations about girl stuff for a change. She had this really funny way of talking, though… not, like a funny accent or whatever Petra has, but I felt like I had to laugh every other thing she said.

“She left sometime later. Glenn didn’t visit me much between her going and him dying, but the times he did, there was a part of me that remembered her, too. I asked him about it, and he just laughed me off. I’m sure it was on my mind when I got the news he died. As if my idle thoughts had led him to not put in his all. I had too much riding on my hand in marriage to let that sort of thing happen again, so I decided I couldn’t let myself fall for another woman. Dorothea, when I snapped at you, that was part of the reason, and I apologise for that much. It wasn’t something I should’ve brought into that conversation as baggage,” Ingrid rambled. Edelgard and Dorothea were listening with rapt attention, barely pausing for snacks, and it seemed like the people beyond them were also listening on and off too. Ingrid blushed, thinking of how personal a story that was to share to so many.

“Don’t worry, Ingrid. I know the feeling,” Dorothea said, in a tone of voice that left Ingrid reassured in themselves but less comfortable with the situation.

“What’s changed for me, then? Why do you feel more comfortable thinking of me in such a light?” Edelgard asked.

“Well, for one thing, you’ve challenged me to set aside my beliefs, and now that I think of Glenn as a supportive friend rather than a lost love, that one occurred to me to study. It’s not like there’s a ton of books about it, though, so I haven’t felt comfortable actually doing anything about it. I just wanted to hang around with you, Edelgard, and eventually you could start calling it romance. I’m still grappling with that, which makes it all the more clear how not ready I was for marriage as a Faerghan,” Ingrid suggested.

“As a child, you mean,” Edelgard said. Ingrid nodded, preferring not to think of her father like that, but unable to deny it.

“What about this girlfriend of yours? Do you remember her name?” Dorothea asked. Ingrid shook her head.

“I know she was a brunette and she liked red dresses, but even if I did remember her face clearly, I’m sure age has changed it too much. Besides, trying to find one woman in the entire nation of Faerghus while I’m still hated by the level of nobility she was likely a part of? I just don’t see us ever reuniting on friendly terms, if she’s still alive. But it doesn’t matter to me. She was important to my self discovery, but Edelgard is even more important to me now. It’s best that I move on and love the girl I have rather than desperately search for the girl I used to know,” Ingrid explained.

“I sure hope that doesn’t mean you’ll leave us if you find you like some other people better,” Dorothea teased with a pout.

“I should hope she does, because that means she’s learned my lesson. Besides, I used to be a brunette living in Faerghus, apparently. Maybe I could be this girl,” Edelgard chuckled.


End file.
